Truth Be Told
by sheisamelody
Summary: Will Jack and Rachel finally be able to admit that they have feelings for one another? [complete, for now!]
1. Chapter 1

**Truth Be Told**

Summary: Will Jack and Rachel finally be able to admit that they have feelings for one another?  
A/N: I recently re-watched some Water Rats episodes (from S3 and S4), and started thinking of this fic. It is set after the episode _A Day at the Office_ , but without Rachel's death/stabbing.

* * *

Rachel sat down at her desk, her eyes firmly fixated on Jack. She didn't exactly know what she was thinking about, she only knew that it had something to do with the man she was looking at. Jack meanwhile, feeling that someone was looking at him, raised his head, and saw, in that split second, Rachel quickly glance away.

"Everything okay, Rach?" he felt the need to ask.

She looked over at him again and their eyes met. "Yeah, yeah… I just…" Rachel struggled to find the words she was looking for, and ended up shrugging.

Jack smiled at her, still holding the stare, "It's one of those days, hey?"

"Yeah, I guess it is."

Moments later, the door opened and in walked Mick, looking a little worse for wear with his sunglasses still covering his eyes. "Morning," he said to Jack and Rachel, completely unaware of anything that had happened at work in the last 16 hours.

"Why good morning!" Jack answered, watching as the younger detective sat down at his desk. "So, where were you last night, Mr Uncontactable?"

Mick finally took his glasses off, and frowned, "Huh?"

"Helen tried to call you, Rachel tried to call you…" Jack explained, probably being a little too placid about the situation, especially given he was actually pissed off.

The frown remained on Mick's face, "I had my phone with me the entire night, and it didn't ring once," he pulled his phone of his pocket and pressed a few keys. There was no noise from the buttons, the screen didn't light up… nothing. Mick's face displayed even more confusion.

"Maybe it turned itself off," Jack said, trying to hide the sarcasm in his voice, without success.

Rachel sat in silence; she had already figured what Mick had been up to last night, and although she didn't exactly approve, she thought staying silent was the best thing to do. There was no way she wanted to get into another argument with Mick over Suzi Abromovich. The woman just wasn't worth it.

"So… what _were_ you up to last night Mick?" Jack asked again, "Rachel said you probably went to get your nose checked out…"

"Something like that," was all Mick said, quickly glancing at Rachel, who had one hand slightly covering her mouth, as if to stop herself from saying anything.

"It doesn't take _all_ bloody night to get your nose checked, ya know," Jack pressed the issue, but stopped when he noticed Rachel shaking her head stiffly at him.

Mick glared at Jack through slit eyes, deciding to tell him the truth, "Okay Jack. I was with Suzi all night, alright? I screwed her!" his voice was somewhat loud and firm. Jack sat still, obviously dumbfounded, so Mick continued, his voice still raised, "I know I did the wrong thing, but I'm not the one who's in _love_ with my work partner!" there was a brief pause, "I thought you liked to keep things impartial, Jack! Tell me, how is being in love with your partner keeping things impartial, huh?"

"Don't change the subject, that is _not_ what this is about!" Jack's voice became louder, "You're the one who's in the wrong here. _You're_ the one who left work yesterday, whilst you were still on duty I might add, and then proceeded to switch your phone off so you could have sex with some woman without being interrupted!"

Mick opened his mouth to reply, but Jeff cut in, "HEY! I can hear you two from my office, so I have no doubt that you can be heard just about everywhere else!" he exclaimed, equally as loud, "Reilly, Christey, my office. _Now_."

"Yes, sir," the two detectives mumbled at the same time.

* * *

"What was that all about?" asked Jeff, once they were all in his office and the door was closed.

"Nothing, sir," Mick answered flatly.

Jeff rolled his eyes subtly, "I don't think it was nothing," he paused, looking intently at Jack, "I take it when Mick said you're in love with your work partner, that he meant Rachel. Am I correct?"

Jack pursed his lips tightly together, deciding not to answer. He couldn't believe that _he_ was the one who seemed to be getting into trouble.

Jeff glanced at Mick upon realising that Jack wasn't going to reply.

"Look Jeff… I did the wrong thing yesterday," Mick spoke up, causing Jack to look over at him with a frown on his face. "I don't know what happened with my phone or…"

"Okay, this is what we're going to do today," the Chief Inspector said firmly, not caring that he interrupted, "The two of you are going to continue the passport scam investigation. No arguments, no buts, just get on with it. Rachel can stay here and do whatever work she needs to do."

* * *

Rachel wasn't exactly sure if it was Mick who was _really_ being punished for being out of contact when he was needed, given that staying in the office and doing paperwork wasn't exactly her favourite thing in the world.

She used some of the time, however, to make an effort to get in contact with the mother of the young woman found dead yesterday, but her efforts were in vain. Every number in the young woman's phone book was either disconnected or if someone did answer, they had no idea who Rachel was talking about.

"How are you doing, Rachel?" Helen walked into the office to see a frustrated Rachel slam the phone back into its receiver.

She looked up at the sound of her voice, "Oh… yeah okay, I suppose."

"Come into my office, we'll have a chat."

The dreaded 'chat' with Helen. Rachel knew what it was going to be about, and wasn't surprised when Helen began, "I want to talk to you about Jack."

She nodded. It was only a matter of time before Helen brought it up.

"Do you want to tell me what is going on there?" she said; there was a slight softness and sincerity in her voice.

Rachel looked at her, confusion written all over her face, "But I don't really _know_ what's going on," she answered frankly, "I mean, Jack seems to know what he wants… but I have no idea."

"Would you have gotten back together with Jack if you didn't know what you wanted?"

She sighed, briefly glancing up at the ceiling, "I don't know! I really don't!" she paused, "It's just so… familiar with Jack, I guess. But after yesterday… I don't know, it was so much easier when no one knew about it, ya know?"

"Why do you think that is?"

"It makes it more real, I guess. And, we weren't copping shit about it when no one knew," Rachel replied quietly. "Now it's just like people are silently going, _Rachel and Jack, sitting in a tree… K-I-S-S-I-N-G_ …" she sung, sarcastically, "You should've heard Mick crapping on about it to me yesterday, like it is the worst thing in the whole world."

"And he is still going on about it today too, it seems," Helen said, speaking of the very public argument between Mick and Jack.

* * *

"So, _are_ you in love with Rachel?" Mick probed Jack, breaking the silence, as they drove to the surveillance point at Snails Bay.

"What if I am?" he answered cryptically, not even bothering to look at the younger man.

"Well I would like to know that you have my back at work, too, you know Jack," Mick said, parking the car.

Jack shook his head in disbelief as he stared out the window, "Are you serious? You _know_ that I've got your back!"

"All I'm saying is, the way you feel about Rachel could cloud your judgement and -"

"Oh Mick, shut up," Jack was clearly agitated. "If you think you can just get out of what _you_ did yesterday by constantly bringing up what is or isn't going on between me and Rachel, you're kidding yourself."

* * *

When the day was over, Jack walked tiredly back into the office. Rachel, still sitting at her desk with her laptop in front of her, looked over at him as he sat down, "You're back."

He nodded, closing his eyes briefly, "It's been a _long_ day."

"Have you and Mick calmed down now?"

Jack scoffed, "Not sure that's going to happen anytime soon."

Rachel raised her eyebrows; she wasn't all that surprised, but said anyway, "I'm sure you'll both work it out eventually."

Jack stared at her, intriguingly. A small smile then formed on his face, "Good to know you've got confidence in us, Rach!" he paused, before changing the subject, "So, um, do you want to open that bottle of red tonight and have a chat? Given we didn't get the chance to do that last night…"

"Sure, sounds good," Rachel surprised herself with her response. Even though she wasn't ready to admit it out loud, there was something within her telling her that what she had with Jack was good, and to not let go of it so easily.

The smile remained on Jack's face, and he sat back in his chair, wondering if what Mick had said earlier was true. Was he in love with Rachel?

* * *

Jack made sure he had the bottle of wine with him before heading to Rachel's house later that night. She let him inside and they sat down on the couch, each with their glasses of wine in their hands. "What we said yesterday morning…" Jack began, "I want you to know that I only agreed with you because I was half-asleep. I don't _really_ want this to end, Rach. I like this… us… we're good together."

"We are good," Rachel agreed, smiling nervously.

Jack looked over at her, using his free hand to push some hair out of her eyes, "So what are we going to do about it?" he asked softly, not wanting to pressure her in any way.

"I don't know, Jack," she answered truthfully, placing her wine glass on the coffee table in front of them. "It just, sort of, changes things now that everyone knows… and Jeff, who knows what he will think, or do, when he finds out."

"I think Jeff already has some idea, particularly after the argument Mick and I had this morning."

Rachel threw her head back, "Ergh!"

"Look, don't worry about Jeff or anyone else right now," Jack's voice was rather calm, "This is about you and I."

You and I, thought Rachel, looking over at him. He was so… infuriatingly attractive. Without even thinking, she leaned towards him, planting a soft kiss on his cheek. All Jack did was smile, as he pulled her even closer to him so that they were embracing.

"You know Rachel, I think we really should be _talking_ about this."

She shrugged.

Sometimes actions spoke louder than words.


	2. Chapter 2

**Truth Be Told**

* * *

 **Chapter 2**

"When I first came to work here last year, the old fashioned cop in me assumed that I would be working with a male detective," Jack told Helen, who, like she had done with Rachel a day earlier, wanted to have a little 'chat' with Jack. "I _knew_ that Frank was away, and just thought he had a male partner. No one had told me otherwise!"

"But then you met Rachel," Helen couldn't help but smile.

He nodded, smiling as well, reflecting on what happened. "I'm standing in the meal room with Jeff, and he must have seen her walk by, because he called out to her. I was looking out the window thinking, Rachel, that's not a man's name! So I turned around… nup, definitely not a man! She's this beautiful woman, with big blue eyes and these cute little dimples when she smiles…" Jack sighed, "It's safe to say that I was instantly attracted to her."

Helen felt a bit like a psychologist as she listened and nodded at what he had to say.

"Are you okay with it… ya know, if Rachel and I…" Jack was a little unsure of what to say next.

"Stay together?"

"Yeah."

Helen leaned her head to one side slightly as she asked, "Are you staying together?"

Jack shrugged offhandedly, despite feeling as though he knew the answer to the question, "Oh I dunno. I just thought I'd ask…"

* * *

On board the Nemesis, Tommy and Gavin were still teasing Jack about his relationship with Rachel. "So Jack," began Tommy, smirking, "Have you got those mobile phone covers I was telling you about? They'd be a good investment!"

"Yeah," Gavin chipped in, "It'd only set you back about… what, ten bucks!?"

Jack stood with his arms folded across his chest, and rolled his eyes in annoyance, "Haven't you two had enough of this yet? I mean, what's the big bloody deal anyway?"

"It's _you_! And _Rachel_!" Gavin laughed, looking over at Tommy, who was smiling.

Jack decided not to add any more fuel to the flames. Instead, he shook his head and said, "Let's just get on with work, shall we?"

Tommy and Gavin shared a quick glance, thinking that they may have hit some kind of nerve. They did, however, what he said, and continued on to Iron Cove in silence, where there had been a report of a body floating in the water near the bridge.

The body was that of Alex 'Axe' Grenville, the 'dumbest crim' Jack had ever met. "What the hell is going on here?" he exclaimed, watching on as Tommy and Gavin pulled Axe's badly beaten body onto the boat.

"Payback for something?" Tommy wondered, zipping up the body bag once Axe was inside.

"Hm. Payback for not doing something right, I'd say," Jack mumbled in reply, "He certainly wasn't the smartest bloke in the world."

* * *

"It was _Axe_ in the water?" Rachel exclaimed in surprise, once Jack was back at the station, "What happened to him?"

"Oh, it looks like he was beaten to death. Certainly no accident or suicide, unless he beat himself up and jumped off the bridge," Jack sat down at his desk, which was unusually messy by his standards, "I might go and see Chopper a bit later, see what he reckons."

Rachel nodded a couple of times, still feeling a little annoyed that she was no longer part of the investigation.

Jack seemed to know what she was thinking about, "Jeff is _still_ not allowing you to be involved?"

"Apparently," she let out a soft sigh.

"Why?"

Rachel shrugged, "It seems like he wants Mick to be the one doing stuff with you. Perhaps it's so you two can work out whatever it is you need to work out."

Jack wasn't really buying it, however. "Maybe he doesn't want you and I working together as much."

"What's that got to do with…" Rachel began, but her voice trailed away when she realised what he meant. It was no secret that Jeff had overheard at least some of the argument between Jack and Mick yesterday. Everyone in the entire station probably heard it!

"I doubt it will go on forever. I mean, we _share_ this office. It's not like we don't see each other when we're at work!" Jack told her, pausing before he said, "Anyway, I really don't think we should be the ones investigating this shit. It's a bloody _passport_ scam. Surely things like this should be left to Customs or the Feds… or whoever."

"Have you talked to Jeff about it?"

"Nah, but I'm certainly going to."

* * *

Helen was at her computer in her office, typing up a report, when Jeff knocked on the door. He stood in the doorway and said, "Helen, can I see you in my office for a minute?"

"Sure Jeff," she answered, a little wary of what he wanted to talk to her about.

"Jack and Rachel," Jeff started saying when Helen was in his office, "Do you know what's going on there?"

Helen feigned a frown, "No, I'm not sure what you mean by 'what's going on there'?"

Jeff glared at her, as if he was trying to figure out whether she was lying or not, "I mean, is something going on between Rachel and Jack? Romantically?"

Helen sat down, and shook her head lightly, "I don't know Jeff," she didn't want to be the one to tell him the truth, "What gives you that idea anyway?"

"Jack and Mick had a very loud argument yesterday," he answered deadpan, "I heard Mick say something about Jack being in love with his work partner."

"Oh Jeff, look, it was an argument between two men. Some silly things can be said in the heat of the moment," Helen tried to reason with him, even though she thought there was probably a lot of truth in what Mick had said.

"I understand that," Jeff said, nodding thoughtfully, "But I dunno… I just get the feeling that something is going on there."

"Well, maybe you should ask Rachel and or Jack!"

* * *

Jack knocked on Jeff's door, and upon seeing him gesture, he walked inside and shut the door behind him.

"Ah Jack," Jeff said in greeting, "Just the person I wanted to talk to!"

Jack raised his eyebrows, waiting for him to say something, but Jeff allowed him to speak first. "I wanted to talk to you about this passport scam, Jeff. I don't think it should be us who is investigating it. It should be left to Customs and Immigration or Border Security… or the Federal Police. This has nothing to do with us, it's beyond our jurisdiction, don't you think?"

"I don't disagree with you there, Jack."

"Then why are we still the ones doing the investigation?" he asked, sitting down in front of Jeff.

Jeff took his time to respond, "I'll make a few phone calls, okay Jack? In the meantime, what you _can_ do, is investigate the murder of Alex Grenville. Reilly is coming in a bit later today, so you can get Rachel's help, _providing_ she's not busy."

Jack raised his eyebrows again, surprised at Jeff's last sentence.

"So now," Jeff began a little cautiously, "What I wanted to talk to you about…" he paused, knowing that it might be a touchy subject, "You and Rachel."

Jack felt his heart drop.

"What Mick said during your argument yesterday, is there some truth to it?" Jeff finally asked, "You never answered my question."

"What was the question again?" there was no expression on Jack's face, or in his voice.

The Chief Inspector looked at Jack sternly, "Was Mick talking about Rachel when he said you are in love with your partner?"

Jack shrugged nonchalantly, "I guess so. But what would Mick know? He probably would've said anything yesterday to try and save his own arse. Especially knowing that _he_ was the one who was in trouble."

Surprisingly, Jeff accepted Jack's response and didn't press the issue any more. "Okay Jack, well, I'll make those phone calls and let you know what is happening with the passport investigation as soon as I know."

* * *

"What did Jeff say?" asked Rachel, when Jack made his way back into the office.

He sat down on the chair in front of her desk, "Oh he said he'd make a few phone calls in regards to the passport investigation. Hopefully that means it will be off our hands very soon."

She nodded.

"In the meantime, he said you can help me out with Axe's murder… providing you're not up to anything else," Jack smiled.

"Wow, that was a quick turnaround from Jeff!" said a surprised Rachel, her eyes a little wide. "Well… I don't have anything else to do now, I didn't manage to get in touch with that young woman's mother. In fact, I couldn't get in touch with anyone who was in her phone book!"

"Hm, weird."

"Anyway, where did you want to start with Axe's murder?" she asked, "Chopper?"

He smiled again, pointing an index finger at her, "You read my mind, Rach."

* * *

Mick arrived at work in the early afternoon, and began finishing off the paperwork that had built up from the previous couple of days. Jeff knocked on the door once; he was looking for Jack. "Tell Jack that the passport scam investigation is officially off our hands. Customs will now be looking into it further," he told Mick, "However, they want to be informed if anything comes up that might be related to it."

"Like Alex Grenville's death?" Mick asked, still a little surprised about hearing that particular news.

"If his death is found to be connected to the passport scam somehow, yes."

"Okay, thanks Jeff. I'll let Jack know," he replied with an appreciative smile, watching through the window as Jeff walked back to his office.

It was around fifteen minutes later when Jack and Rachel got back to the station. Chopper had confirmed that Grenville was beaten to death, but there was little else to go on whilst he waited for various lab results to come back.

"Jack," Mick began, swivelling around in his chair, "Jeff said the passport scam is off our hands -"

"Great!"

"- But if anything comes up that might be related to it, we have to pass it on to Customs," he finished.

Jack nodded thoughtfully, "Okay. I might go and have a quick chat to Jeff."

When he was out of sight, Mick glanced over at Rachel, asking, "So Rach, have you thought anything more about what I said to you the other day?"

Rachel looked up, immediately frowning at him, "What did you say to me the other day?"

"About you being in love with Jack…" a cheeky grin flashed across Mick's face.

She rolled her eyes, "Why would I need to think about that more?"

"Errr… because you _are_ in love!" Mick couldn't help but chuckle at her demeanour, "Jack's in love with you too, you know. I wasn't just making it all up when I said that to him yesterday!"

"I really don't see how it is any of your business," Rachel responded, fed up with talking about it.

"Hm, I dunno about that!" he said, tilting his head to one side, "I have to share an office with you two lovebirds!"

"Shut up, Michael."

* * *

Though she wasn't going to admit it to anyone, Rachel _had_ thought about what Mick said. A lot. His words were playing on her mind. She sat down at her kitchen bench; a pen in one hand, and the journal she rarely touched, sitting in front of her. She opened the book, flicking through it until she came to a blank page. Tapping the pen against the bench, Rachel soon began to write.

 _This is madness. If I love Jack, then why do I treat him like this? What am I scared of? Scared to commit? I don't know. Maybe everyone goes through this… wondering how many people they'll love in a lifetime. Wondering how many people they can meet that they can love. I guess I've been lucky that I've met more than one. Stuffed those up though. I'm such a coward. Why is it so hard to say that I love him? Just say it._

 _I love you, Jack._

Rachel sighed heavily, reading over the words she had written. It was so much easier to write the words down onto paper than it was to actually say it. "Maybe I should just write Jack a bloody note," she said softly to herself, sighing again.

She thought back to when they were kidnapped by the madman that was Geoffrey Cooper. Jack saved her life. He later told her that he did it without thinking, without hesitating, and that he would do it again. She had smiled at him, thankful he was there. It was in that moment Rachel realised how much Jack meant to her.

* * *

The Cutter Bar was relatively quiet later that night, but soft murmurs of different voices still managed to fill the quaint pub. Jack arrived to find Helen and Mick already sitting at a table with their selected drinks. He went to the bar, ordered a beer, and took it to the table. "Hey Jack," Helen said with a smile. She wondered where Rachel was, but decided not to ask. Their relationship was still a fairly raw topic, and she didn't want to be someone who continually brought it up.

Mick, on the other hand, seemed to have other ideas, "Where's Rachel?"

Jack shot him a brief glare, before answering, "Home, I assume. She knows she can come here if she wants to."

"I thought you'd come together… you know," Mick taunted, with a grin.

"And I thought you would've dropped this by now, Mick," Jack retorted, deadpan, "You're starting to become worse than Tommy and Gavin put together."

"Okay, okay," Helen interjected before it turned into yet another full blown argument, "That's enough, both of you."

Minutes later, Rachel entered the pub. She saw Jack, Mick and Helen at the table and walked over to them. "Hi," she said, realising that she had arrived at an awkward moment. "Geez, what did I interrupt?" she asked, sitting down, resisting a strong urge to kiss Jack.

"Nothing much," Jack answered, smiling. He too, resisting an urge to kiss her.

Rachel glanced at Helen, hoping to get a more truthful response. "Come and get a drink with me," Helen told her, and together, they walked over to the bar.

"So what did I _really_ interrupt?"

"Oh, Jack and Mick… they need to sort their crap out," Helen chuckled, with a shake of her head.

Rachel took a sip of her beer once it had been given to her, "What did they argue about now?"

"It wasn't quite an argument… well, I guess it would've been if I didn't interrupt," Helen replied, reluctant to say anything else. "But what can you do? They're two grown men who have to share an office -"

"It was about me and Jack, wasn't it?" Rachel guessed.

Helen glanced over at her as they wandered back from the bar.

When they were almost at the table, the doors to the Cutter Bar opened. Three men wearing balaclavas entered and began shouting. The people who were closest to the men screamed in fright. "Shut up!" one of the men yelled, "Nobody move!" he used the gun in his hand to scan the room, while the other men jumped behind the bar. Rachel, still standing, was grabbed by the man before she could react. He yanked her towards him, "Anybody moves, and I'll blow her bloody head off!"

Jack's instinct as a cop was about the only thing preventing him from getting up and smashing the guy when he wasn't looking.

The man held onto Rachel with a firm grip, keeping the gun pointed at her head, and a watchful eye on everyone as the other men emptied money from the tills and the safe. "Got all the loot," one of them eventually said.

"Okay, good. Let's get outta here," the man shoved Rachel to the ground with force, and they began to leave.

"Rach…" Jack ran towards Rachel to make sure she was okay, but before he got to her, the man who had the gun turned around, and fired one shot at him, before hurriedly exiting the building. In the quickest of seconds, Jack fell to the ground, landing heavily on his back.

"JACK!" Rachel yelled as she quickly got up off the ground and ran over to him. She took her jacket off and pressed it against the wound, which was already bleeding profusely.

"Call an ambulance!" Helen called out to the bartender, who, though clearly still shaken, nodded his head. "And the police too!" she added.

"Jack…" Rachel said, lifting his head up a little with one hand, whilst keeping pressure on the gunshot wound with the other, "Jack… open your eyes… _please_ …"

"Here, let me do that, Rach," Mick said to her, taking off his jacket quickly, "You keep talking to him."


	3. Chapter 3

_**Truth Be Told**_

* * *

 **Chapter 3**

The ambulance arrived at St Vincent's hospital almost twenty minutes after it had first attended to Jack at the Cutter Bar. Jack was wheeled into the emergency department on a stretcher. Rachel watched on helplessly as doctors began to surround him.

"We've got a 45 year old male," said one of the paramedics, "Single gunshot wound to the lower right abdomen. He's been unconscious since we arrived on the scene…"

The voices began to fade as they disappeared down the corridor, leaving Rachel standing in the almost empty waiting room, shaking uncontrollably. Helen arrived moments later, and saw her pacing back and forth. She put her arms on her shoulders, stopping her, "Sit down Rachel. Come on, you're in shock."

"Did we do enough…?" Rachel covered her mouth with one hand, as tears began to run down her face, "Is there anything else -"

"Jack will be alright. He's tough," Helen told her reassuringly, rubbing her back gently, "And he's in good hands here."

"He lost a lot of blood, Helen…"

"Shhh… stay positive," she said quietly.

Three hours had passed when a doctor finally came out to the waiting room. "Are you here for Jack Christey?" he asked Rachel, who had stood up upon seeing him. Helen remained seated.

"Yes."

"I'm Doctor Hartley," he shook Rachel's hand, who in turn introduced herself. "Jack came through surgery quite well. We've got him in recovery at the moment, and then he'll be moved to the Intensive Care Unit."

"Okay," Rachel felt slightly relieved, "When will we be able to see him?"

"Once he's moved to the ICU, you'll be able to go up and see him then," Doctor Hartley told her, "Either myself or someone else will come and let you know. It shouldn't be too long."

* * *

In Jack's room an hour later, Rachel sat down next to his bed and took hold of his hand. She squeezed it gently. Helen watched on, beginning to realise that their relationship was more serious than she first thought. "Rachel," she said quietly, "I'm going to go now that Jack's here. You should think about going home too and getting some sleep."

"Oh, I don't think I could sleep…"

"You should at least try."

"I'll do that here," Rachel replied, looking at Jack, "I just… I want to be here when he wakes up."

Helen nodded understandingly, "Okay. I'll be back early in the morning, alright? Call me if anything changes."

"I will," Rachel watched Helen leave the room. She then turned back to Jack, squeezing his hand again. "Jack…? It's me, Rachel… I want you to know that I am here and…" Rachel paused, thinking about what she had written in her journal. She leaned forward, kissed his forehead and whispered into his ear, "I love you."

* * *

The following morning, most of the Water Police crew were only just finding out about what happened to Jack. "This happened at the _Cutter Bar_?" exclaimed Tommy, quite shocked to hear the news.

Mick nodded, "Yeah. Three men robbed the place. One of the men grabbed Rachel, and held a gun to her head, as a way to stop anyone from moving. And then when they were leaving, Jack got up and he was shot."

"How is he? Have you heard anything?"

"Helen and Rachel went to the hospital with him, and Helen told me he got through surgery okay," Mick explained, "Rachel stayed with him all night as far as I know. She hasn't called, so I'm guessing that things are alright."

"Back to work you two," came Jeff's voice from behind them, "I know it's difficult to stay focused, but we still have jobs to do."

"Sir," both Tommy and Mick answered. They gave each other a small glance before heading in the opposite directions - Mick went upstairs and Tommy walked towards the wharf, where Gavin was conducting some maintenance on the Nemesis before they headed out on patrol.

Upstairs in the office, Mick phoned Chopper to see if any of Grenville's lab results had come back. "Okay, thanks Chop," he hung up the phone as Helen entered the office, having just given her statement about the events at the Cutter Bar to the armed hold-up squad.

"How's Jack? Is Rachel still with him?"

"She's still there with him," Helen answered with a nod, "And there's been no change. So… do you want a hand with anything? I don't suspect Rachel will be in today… she's hardly had any sleep, as you can imagine."

"Alex Grenville's murder…" Mick began, quickly leaving the office before coming back a few seconds later. He held up some pieces of paper, "Chopper faxed this through to me. Besides being bashed to death, there was nothing found in his system. No drugs, no alcohol…"

"Not much to go on then," Helen said flatly.

Mick continued to look over the report, "I was thinking I might canvass the area near the water where he was found. Seems like the most logical thing to do at the moment."

"I'll come with you."

* * *

At the hospital, Rachel had her head resting on the side of Jack's bed, her eyes were shut. Jack stirred, groaning softly as he woke. He could feel that someone was holding his hand; he opened his eyes and saw that it was Rachel. He smiled, pressing down on her hand, "Rach..."

She lifted her head at the sound of his voice. Her eyes widened when she saw that he was awake. "Jack!" she exclaimed happily, smiling back at him. "How are you feeling?" she asked, leaning towards him and kissing his lips tenderly.

"Like I've been hit by a bus," he answered groggily, "Kiss me again, it made me feel better."

Rachel rolled her eyes, "I'll get the nurse."

"Rachel," he kept hold of her hand so she couldn't get up, "Rach?"

"Yes Jack?"

"Kiss me… again."

"I'm getting a nurse, okay?" she repeated, ignoring him with a smile.

He finally let go of her hand, watching as she walked out of the room. It was only a few moments later when Rachel came back in, a nurse was following closely behind. "How are you feeling this morning, Jack?" he asked, "How's the pain? On a scale of one to ten, with one being no pain and ten being the worst pain you've experienced."

"Oh about a six or seven," Jack winced a little when he tried to move.

"Okay, well I'm going to check your obs, and then I'll come back with something for the pain," the nurse answered. He took Jack's blood pressure, heart rate and temperature; all of which were fairly normal. "I'll be back in a sec."

Jack nodded, his eyes focusing on Rachel, "How long have you been here, Rach?"

"Since you arrived last night," she replied softly, touching his hand.

He watched as their fingers clasped together affectionately, "No wonder you look so tired."

The nurse walked back into the room with some pain relief for Jack, "Here you are," he said. He took the drip out of the cannula in Jack's arm, and injected the clear liquid through the cannula and into his vein. "This should work pretty quickly, but if you're in any discomfort again, just press the buzzer," the nurse continued, before putting the drip back in its place. "The surgeon will be in sometime this afternoon to talk to you about the operation you had."

* * *

Late in the evening, when no one was visiting him, Jack decided to do as the doctor told him and close his eyes and rest. In his head, he could hear Rachel's voice. She was talking to him, telling him that he was going to be alright. Jack realised he was thinking back to the aftermath of the robbery and shooting. Rachel's voice continued; he could hear others speaking as well, but it was Rachel whose voice stood out the most.

 _Jack… it's me, Rachel… I want you to know that I am here and… I love you._

Jack's eyes opened at that thought. Was it real or was it a dream, he wondered. It certainly felt real, but would Rachel say something like that? Did she really feel that way about him? He closed his eyes again, and started to think about his own feelings for Rachel.

The thought hit him suddenly. Mick had been right, the smartarse. Jack was in love with his work partner.

* * *

The next day, Rachel forced herself to go to work. Upon arrival, she was immediately bombarded with questions about Jack; questions she knew the answers to, but didn't feel like answering. "He's okay," she eventually said to Tayler, as she slowly made the journey upstairs, "I haven't seen him today yet, though…"

"Hi Rachel," Mick greeted her when he saw her enter the office.

"Morning," she replied, sitting down at her desk.

"I wasn't sure you'd be in today," he told her, "Helen's been giving me a hand with the Alex Grenville murder investigation…"

"Yeah well, I wasn't the one who was shot, so here I am," Rachel responded, clearly tired.

"How much sleep have you had though?" Mick was concerned for her wellbeing.

"I'm fine Mick, really," she said, smiling to reassure him. "So where are you on Axe's murder?" she asked, diligently changing the subject.

"Well, Helen and I spoke, briefly, to a possible witness yesterday. I'm going to have another chat with him today," he explained, "You can come –"

"Rachel, you're here today," Helen had entered the office, and was smiling down at the detective. "I went in to see Jack earlier this morning. He said he told you to go home and sleep…"

She nodded, "Yeah."

Mick looked at Helen, "I was just saying to Rachel… she can come with me to have another chat to the man from yesterday."

"Good idea."

* * *

A short while later, Mick and Rachel drove to Drummoyne to meet with Tim Portland, the man who was certain he saw Alex Grenville being thrown off the Iron Cove Bridge a few days earlier.

"I was driving towards Rozelle on the bridge," Tim began. "It was around 6:30 in the morning, relatively light out. Not many cars on the road for a Saturday morning. I saw a man, the one whose picture you showed me yesterday… Grenville, was it?" he looked at Mick, who nodded, "There was a woman and another man with him. They all got out of a car, but the woman just stood there and watched as the other man starting bashing the man… and then threw him over the rails."

Rachel raised her eyebrows, "The other man _threw_ Grenville over the side? By himself?"

Tim nodded, "He was a strong looking guy. Big. Muscly. Kinda European looking, darkish."

"And the woman, what did she look like?"

"I didn't get a real good look at her," he explained, "By that stage I was almost off the bridge. But, I remember she had short, dark hair… and Madonna style big boobs. Ya know, from her early nineties days."

Mick and Rachel shared a brief, wry glance.

"Pointy," Tim added with a grin, "But yeah… that's all I remember about her."

"And what type of car were they driving? Do you remember?" Rachel questioned, frowning.

"Oh it was a dark blue or black Holden Commodore, new model. Didn't get the rego though."

Mick then asked, "Did you call the police at the time of the incident?"

"Don't own a mobile."

"You didn't go to a police station and report it?"

Tim shook his head, "Nah. I thought I'd wait til the cops showed up. I knew you guys would eventually."

Rachel tried hard not to roll her eyes. But she was thankful for some kind of description of the suspects at least.

"Would you mind coming to the station later on? We'll get your official statement then, and maybe you could go through some photos for us," Mick said to him, shaking his hand.

"Anything I can do to help!"

* * *

As they were driving back to the station, Rachel said her thoughts out loud, "That description Tim gave of the woman… he said she had big boobs, just like Axe did to describe the woman who got him involved in the passport scam."

"You think it could be the same woman?"

"Maybe," she shrugged. "I mean, I realise there's probably heaps of women out there who have big boobs, I just think it's a bit of a coincidence. A woman with big boobs gets Axe involved in the scam… he stuffs up… a woman with big boobs watches him get killed."

Mick nodded, exclaiming, "You may be onto something there, you know Rach!"

"Hmm."

They pulled into the Water Police station car park. Helen, as if she knew they had arrived, came running towards them when they were walking down the footpath; the look on her face made Rachel fear that something had happened to Jack. And, she was right. "He's just been taken to surgery only a few minutes ago," Helen informed them as calmly as she could. "An MRI was done this morning, and it showed some internal bleeding coming from his liver…"

Rachel stood completely still, frozen by the shock. Mick handed her the car keys, "You go, okay?" he told her, putting his hand on the side of her arm, "Let us know how he goes."

She slowly regained some composure, managing a nod.

As Mick and Helen started to walk away, Helen suddenly turned to Mick, saying, "Maybe I should go with her," and she ran back the other direction, reaching Rachel before she drove away, "Wait Rachel! I'm coming with you!"

* * *

Déjà vu.

Rachel paced back and forth in the hospital waiting room; Helen tried her best to calm her down. "Come on, Rachel. Have a seat. Stressing isn't going to help."

Rachel gave her a look, but eventually did sit down. "Jack was fine yesterday," her voice began to tremble, "I should've stayed with him last night… I should've… he was _fine_."

"He was fine when I went to see him early this morning too," Helen told her, putting an arm around her shoulders as Rachel began to cry, "Sometimes these things can happen very quickly," she paused, "Jack _will_ be alright."

Rachel couldn't help but feel pessimistic, despite wanting to be positive. She knew internal bleeding didn't happen for no reason; there was always some kind of trigger. She wiped the tears from her eyes, but more tears just came in their place.

"I have to call Jeff," Helen started to say as she stood up, "I'll be right back, okay?"

While Helen was outside, Rachel saw Doctor Hartley enter the waiting room. He recognised her from the previous day, and walked over to her. "Jack is out of surgery," he told her, "He's been asking for you."

"Me?"

Doctor Hartley nodded, smiling softly, "Come with me, I'll take you to see him."

* * *

Jack's room was different from last time; but it wasn't the only thing that Rachel noticed was different about it. There were more tubes and more machines around Jack, who was lying still, but his eyes were slightly open. He saw Rachel and immediately tried to say her name, "Ra- Rach…" his voice was quiet and a little hoarse.

"Jack…" she walked over to him and took his hand. A few tears fell from her eyes.

He smiled, "I think I've been hit by another bus…"

Their hands interlocked.

"You've just come out of surgery," Rachel explained to him with a quiet voice, "Try not to move… or talk… too much, alright? Just rest."

"Rach?" Jack began, using his other hand to gesture for her to move closer to him. "I love you," he told her when her face was centimetres from his, "I love you so much."

She smiled at him, kissing his forehead, "Shhh. You're supposed to be resting, Jack," she whispered.

"I've always been in love with you, Rachel."

Rachel kissed him again, and finally said, "I love you too, Jack."


End file.
